


Stargazing

by avidbeader



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Don’t copy to another site, Galaxy Garrison, Getting Together, Keith and Shiro are astronomy nerds, M/M, Minor Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Post-Season/Series 07, Pre-Kerberos Mission, Season 8 doesn’t exist, heartfelt confessions, season 8? don't know her
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2020-07-20 01:08:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19983544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avidbeader/pseuds/avidbeader
Summary: Shiro helps Keith settle in at the Galaxy Garrison. Years and countless adventures later, he finds the courage to tell Keith what he feels.





	Stargazing

**Author's Note:**

> This piece was written as part of an application to a zine that appears defunct, so I'm sharing it now.
> 
> Thanks as always to [Latart0903](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Latart0903/pseuds/Latart0903) for being one of the best betas ever.

Keith looked at his tablet, baffled by the back-to-back notifications on the screen. They seemed random, yet connected somehow.

The first was a school-wide announcement that all classes before 1100 hours were canceled on Wednesday. Which was nice; that meant Keith wouldn’t face Professor Hamilton’s why-don’t-you-already-know-this attitude in algebra again until Friday.

The second was from Shiro: _I’m gonna come get you after dinner Tuesday. Dress warm!_

Someone came up behind him, looking over his shoulder, and Keith bristled, barely controlling his instinct to throw a fist in their face. He did jump and pull away, turning to see Griffin.

“What do you want?”

“Did you see the announcement? What’s going on Wednesday morning?”

“How should I know?”

“Oh, come on, Keith! You’re all buddy-buddy with Shiro! You should know everything that’s going on here by now!”

Keith glared, holding his tablet close and backing away. “Well, I don’t, _Griffin._ Go ask Shiro yourself if you can’t wait for them to tell us more.”

The other cadet frowned at him, because Keith still refused to call him _James_. Last names were the norm for most people here at the Garrison, unless they were good friends.

And Keith was only friends with one person.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By Tuesday dinner, the first-years knew what was going on. Once a quarter, the Garrison held a star-viewing event on its rooftops: grounding all flights, shutting down the exterior lights to a minimum, and having the commissary set up stalls with refreshments. Everyone who owned a portable telescope was encouraged to bring it and several of the astronomy lab scopes were set up for viewing stations. Curfew was extended to 0200 hours, hence the canceling of morning classes Wednesday.

Shiro came by Keith’s room, carrying a pair of rolled-up blankets. He looked Keith over and nodded approval at his red-and-white hoodie layered over a sweatshirt. “Good, you should be warm enough in that. Ready to go?”

Keith nodded and fell into step beside Shiro. “Someone said it’s a meteor shower?”

“The Orionids. The southern hemisphere gets the best view, but it’s not too shabby from our location. The fall star-viewing is usually around this time unless there’s something special like an eclipse.”

“Does the name have something to do with Orion?” Orion had always been Keith’s favorite, ever since his dad started teaching him about constellations. Easy to spot with a cool story behind it.

Shiro looked down at him, pleased. “Sure does. Orion’s the radiant for them.”

“What does that mean?”

“The radiant is the location where the meteors seem to come from. The Orionids don’t really come from Orion—they’re debris from Halley’s Comet.”

Keith frowned. “But it’s not time for Halley’s Comet.”

Shiro looked even more impressed. “No, but it’s shedding constantly. And when the debris hits our atmosphere, we get meteors. Tonight’s going to be great viewing with the new moon.” Shiro’s tablet chimed and he pulled it out. His expression turned irritated. “Oh for—”

He paused and Keith halted with him as Shiro answered the incoming call. “What is it, Adam… No, I told you last week I was taking Keith… Yes, I did, it’s not my fault you weren’t paying attention!” 

Keith shrank back slightly as Shiro rolled his eyes, his grip on the blankets tightening. His movement caught Shiro’s attention and he interrupted whatever the other man was saying. “Look, I made plans with Keith and he’s waiting on me. I’ll see you in the morning.” Shiro disconnected the call and put the tablet away, then reached his free hand out to Keith. “Sorry about that. Adam totally blanked that I’d told him I was taking you tonight.”

  
  
“I can… I can go by myself?” Keith offered. His stomach was clenched up from seeing Shiro so irritated.

Shiro laid his hand on Keith’s shoulder. “No way, bud. I’ve been looking forward to this for weeks. Tonight is ours.” He gave Keith an affectionate shake and they started for the stairs once more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The night was breathtaking. The stars hung low and brilliant, the cloudy path of the Milky Way making a bridge across the sky. Keith couldn't look away and, after almost bumping into something for a third time, Shiro put an arm around him and steered.

They took a spot away from the telescopes and the food stalls, spreading out one blanket to sit on. After getting comfortable, they began picking out constellations and planets; Keith tried not to fall into smug territory as Shiro grew more and more impressed with his knowledge.

“My pop and me, we lived kind of far out in the desert. All we had to do was walk a little ways from the house or climb to the roof and we’d have a view just like this one. He told me all about the stars.”

Shiro knew from helping with his Garrison application that Keith was an orphan, but this was the first time Keith had shared any kind of detail with him. He braced himself for one of any number of useless platitudes: _he’d be so proud of you, you’re a credit to him, I’m sure he’s looking down at you right now…_

Shiro’s hand was on his shoulder, sure enough, but moving back and forth in a soothing motion.

“It’s okay to miss him, you know. It took me a while to understand that after my parents died.”

Keith’s head snapped up and Shiro met his gaze with a sad smile. “Car crash when I was nine. My grandfather raised me after that, until he died a couple of years ago.”

“I…” The words _I’m sorry_ leapt right to Keith’s tongue before he choked them back. For the first time he understood where other people were coming from when they tried to talk to him about his dad.

Shiro’s smile grew warm, as if he understood exactly what Keith was thinking, and he tugged Keith over to him. “Thanks.”

Someone approached and Keith tensed up, shrinking a little into the shelter of Shiro’s arm. He was a couple years younger than Shiro, with glasses and a sweatshirt with some chemical molecule diagram on it. His voice radiated cheer. “Special delivery for the birthday boy!”

He knelt on the edge of the blanket, setting down a drink carrier. There were three cups, with a little box perched on the unoccupied hole. He held out the box to Keith.

“What? What is this?”

Shiro took a cup. “Early birthday celebration for you, since I’ve got a weekend training hop. Strawberry is good, right? I’ve seen you get seconds every time they have strawberry shortcake in the commissary.”

Keith opened the box, still hesitant. Inside was a cupcake crowned with vanilla icing and a large strawberry, a candle stuck in it. He looked back up, too surprised to form any words, but his expression must have showed his thanks because both Shiro and the new guy beamed at him.

“I’m Matt, by the way. Shiro’s talked a lot about you. Says you’re going to wipe out every single one of his sim records by the time you graduate.”

Keith blushed at the praise, accepting the cup that Matt put in his hand. Matt sat on a corner of the blanket, a little apart from them, and took the last cup.

“Hot chocolate. Perfect for a meteor shower, even if it is the commissary’s feeble attempt. My sister and I make excellent hot chocolate at home. She’s hoping to get into the Garrison when she’s old enough.”

“She’s also terrifyingly brilliant at technology, like Matt here. We need to introduce you two sometime.” Shiro lifted the cupcake out of the box as Matt produced a plasma lighter for the candle.

Keith flinched, grateful for the attention but anxious to keep it from going too far. “Please don’t sing,” he begged.

They both laughed and Shiro nodded. “Okay, no singing, but you’d better make a wish!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Keith woke as someone gently shook him. He blinked, trying to figure out where he was.

Memory came back: Matt wandering off after Keith finished his cupcake, stretching on his back with Shiro to look straight up at the sky, Shiro getting the second blanket to cover them as the air grew chillier. There had been excitement as the first meteors streaked across the sky, but after a while he’d felt sleepy, his head propped on Shiro’s arm.

“Wake up, buddy. We’ve got about forty minutes before curfew and the meteor rate’s picked up. Take a look.”

Keith scrubbed at his eyes and looked up, blinking at over a dozen lines of light in the sky. He stared as they faded and others appeared, trying to envision being up there and flying among them.

“Shiro?”

“Hm?”

“Are there any sim programs where you fly through a meteor shower?”

Shiro turned his head with a warm grin. “Yeah, there’s a few. We’ll do one the next time we get a timeslot.”

Keith smiled back before lifting his eyes to the sight above him: velvety blue-black bisected by the cloudy spiral of the Milky Way, sprinkled with silver stars and stitched with the gold traces of meteors. He gave a longing sigh and Shiro’s arm tightened around him.

For the first time, the Garrison felt like home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shiro kept his human hand behind him and tapped on the door jamb with his Altean hand. Keith glanced up from the window seat, the wolf sprawled across his legs.

“Hey, Shiro.”

Keith’s voice was tired and his expression flat, even as he stroked the wolf’s head. Shiro knew it was because the doctors had decided to keep Keith grounded another week. A recently-arrived Olkari medic had scanned him and found traces of damage still lingering around his brain and spine, but nothing severe enough for the portable Altean pod to repair. Keith wanted to be back in the Black Lion, to accept Griffin’s invitation to test the MFEs for himself… Hell, he probably just wanted to be out of his hospital room for more than an hour at a time. The rest of the team had returned to regular duties and it grated on Keith to be the only one still not at full strength.

So, hopefully Shiro’s idea would be welcome. “What are you up to?”

Keith rolled his eyes, flapping a sarcastic hand around the room. “Got a full dance card, can’t you tell?”

Shiro grinned. “That’s too bad. I was hoping to steal you away for a bit.”

“To do what? I’m not cleared for sparring or the simulators,” Keith objected.

Shiro brought his hidden hand out, dangling two sets of driving goggles from his fingers. “And you’re not cleared for flying, but no one’s said anything about you riding, have they?”

Keith straightened and the wolf shifted to the side with an offended snort. “You’re serious?”

“I am. One hoverbike, fueled and ready, if you’re interested.”

Keith rose and shot across the room, snatching the goggles from his hand. “Oh, _hell_ yes.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shiro had scouted to find an acceptable destination for his plans. He wanted to avoid Plaht City, still in the early stages of rebuilding. He had gone out to Keith’s property and found the cabin roof had caved in at some point. The outcropping where they had found the Blue Lion was a little too distant from the Garrison for riding back in the dark.

So Shiro took them out to the place where they had had that first really good talk. Keith had opened up a little about his dad, Shiro had explained the mechanics of cliff diving, and Keith had first noticed the electrostim unit around Shiro’s wrist. As they skimmed along, taking a safer route down, Keith kept his arms tight around Shiro and reveled in the wind and sunshine.

Shiro brought the hoverbike to a halt. He felt Keith sit back, looking around. “Wait, is this…”

“Yeah. Cliff Diving 101, except I’m not jumping a cliff with you yet.”

Keith pouted good-naturedly and got off the bike. “Why here? It’ll be full dark soon.”

Shiro dismounted and opened the hoverbike’s storage hold. He pulled out a blanket and spread it on the patch of ground with the fewest rocks. Next was an insulated carryall packed with a picnic supper.

Keith looked everything over, a hesitant smile curving his mouth. “What’s all this?”

Shiro sat next to the carryall, checking the provisions inside. “Just thought I’d grab a chance to hang out, just the two of us. The Perseids are visible this week. I think the Garrison’s having a viewing party this weekend, but it’ll be during predawn hours. This isn’t as optimal since most of the activity will be close to the horizon, but I figured between the crowds and wanting to sleep in, you’d prefer this.”

“Yeah, you got that right.” Keith joined him on the blanket, pulling a water bottle from the carryall and taking a drink.

“You hungry?”

Keith shook his head. “Maybe later.” He lifted his face to the setting sun and breathed in deeply. “I didn’t realize how good it’d feel to get out.” He turned back, a serious look in his eyes. “Thank you, Shiro.”

“You’re welcome. You know I’d do anything I could to make you feel better.”

Keith glanced down and Shiro reached over to tilt his face back up. His thumb brushed the scar across Keith’s cheek, feeling the very slight difference in the discolored skin and the rising heat as he blushed. 

“I would, Keith. I owe you so much.”

“Shiro, what are you talking about? I’m the one who owes you! You changed my entire life!”

“And you changed mine, Keith. You said it yourself, we saved each other.”

Keith bit his lip against the instinctive protest before answering. “Yeah, we did. I’d do anything for you, Shiro.”

It was the opening Shiro had hoped for when he planned this excursion. “There is something you can do.”

“What is it?”

“Say it again? What you said when I—” Shiro paused to steady himself, tracing Keith’s scar with one finger. “When this happened. I remember it because I have his memories, but I’ve never heard it myself.”

Keith’s eyes shot to his face. “You… you remember?”

It hurt Shiro to see the fear in Keith’s expression. They really should have talked this out before. But Krolia had been there as they began the long journey back, and then Shiro had been the fearful one, retreating to Pidge’s lion after Krolia left. And not long after, they’d made it home only to find that the Galra had gotten there first.

Keith bowed his head. Shiro slid his hand into Keith’s hair, trying to push his heavy bangs back, and his fingers found the new scar. The thin ridge followed his hairline, mapping where his helmet had cracked apart as his lion crashed into the planet.

Keith had come so close to dying. They all had.

That thought drove Shiro on. “Keith, I feel the same.”

Keith’s eyes flickered up. “What?”

Shiro moved his Altean arm behind Keith, drawing him closer. “I love you, Keith. I have for a while now. You’ve been my support, you’ve been my best friend. Hell, you fought death and won for me. You’re everything to me.”

Keith was rigid, still tense with fear. Shiro could understand that fear, not knowing what to do when a dream was poised to become reality. “Shiro, I…” His gaze darted down to Shiro’s mouth and back.

Action had always carried more weight with Keith than words.

Shiro leaned in, slowly enough to give Keith a chance to pull back. Keith didn’t move and Shiro curled his hand behind Keith’s head, pressing their lips together. He pulled back when he felt Keith’s throat hitch.

Keith looked up, his eyes glassy with tears. “I love you, Shiro. I love you so much.”

Shiro hauled him in, embracing him tightly as Keith got control of himself. He glanced up at the sky and his breath caught. “Keith, look!”

They turned to watch as meteors etched white lines low across the sky, reflected in the last rays of the sunset. He felt Keith’s wonder, a match to his own. Even after traveling the stars themselves, they could still be caught by a sight like this and feel the lure. Shiro looked at Keith a moment, treasuring the delight that Keith so rarely let show.

Keith tugged him closer and Shiro followed, savoring the moment. Even after all they had gone through, the ordeals and adversity, they had made their way back to one another. There was still joy to be found. They were home.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you as always for reading!


End file.
